Airbus A320 Operators Must Do Extra Check On Door Part, FAA Says
The additional inspections, which are required across the A320 family of aircraft as of Jan. 13., were mandated to “address the unsafe condition on these products.
Operators of almost 2,000 Airbus SE A320 family aircraft in the US will need to perform more frequent inspections of door fasteners to check for possible cracks, according to a US regulatory directive.
The US Federal Aviation Administration updated an airworthiness directive to require the inspections of a door stop fitting, along with some previously mandated checks for fuselage parts, after it found additional cracks around the components.
The additional inspections, which are required across the A320 family of aircraft as of Jan. 13., were mandated to “address the unsafe condition on these products,” according to the directive, which covers 1,924 airplanes of US registry.
Aircraft doors, bolts and panels have become a safety flashpoint after a door-sized fuselage plug blew out of an airborne Boeing Co. 737 Max early last year. While no one was killed, the accident led to investigations and findings of lax controls in Boeing’s factories.
Airbus has faced several issues with the A320 family the past two weeks. The European planemaker was forced to revise its aircraft delivery target for the year after discovering out-of-spec aircraft panels. The company also called for an urgent software revision on the model only a few days earlier.
Airworthiness directives are routinely issued and updated by aviation authorities. They often address minor issues but can also create additional maintenance and related costs for airlines.
